October 13, 2022 7.00 pm This story is over 20 months old

91-year-old waited over four hours in an ambulance outside hospital

She then spent two weeks in hospital in Grimsby

A frustrated son has spoken out after his 91-year-old mum endured a wait of more than four hours in an ambulance outside Scunthorpe General Hospital.

Richard Traviss’ mother Margaret was taken by ambulance to Scunthorpe last month and arrived at around 8.30pm, only for the crew to be told that A&E couldn’t admit any more patients at that time.

Richard told BBC Look North that at one point they were told his mum was seventh in the queue, but at 12.50am the hospital “declared they weren’t going to take any more patients, they’ve got no beds, no rooms in A&E,” he said.

This meant that the ambulances stacked up outside the hospital had to go somewhere else, and Margaret was taken to the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby.

After having an x-ray, she waited another 36 hours before a bed was found for her. She spent two weeks in hospital and has now been discharged.

Richard told BBC Look North: “She was calling out for help but there was nothing I could do for her. The ambulance crew were looking after her as best they could.

“I’m frustrated that these qualified people are not being allowed to do their job and they just sit in a queue drinking coffee and having a sandwich.”

Peter Reading, the chief executive of North Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Hospital Trust, said: “We are working incredibly hard to see and treat people as quickly as possible, but despite our best efforts we are seeing ambulances waiting outside and patients being cared for in the department longer than we would like.

“This is a whole system issue, not just a hospital one, and it is being felt right across the country.

“All patients, including those on ambulances, continue to be closely monitored and we are working with our local partners to reduce waiting times.”